Continued from Part V. . . .

Saturday, 08/12/06, found us hunting for 8 lights.


St. Ignace Light, MI: This 52' white hexagonal tower was a decoration at a highway rest stop until it was dismantled in 2004 and given to the city by the Michigan Transportation Department. Reassembled at the Wawatam Dock in St. Ignace, it serves as a private aid to navigation for the city marina today.





Point Iroquois Light, MI: Built to guide freighters safely between the open waters of Whitefish Bay and the St. Mary’s River, the station served passing sailors by marking the narrow channel between the shallow sand bars and shoals off Point Iroquois and the rocky reefs of Gros Cap on the Canadian side of the bay. It is believed its name came from a battle fought nearby in 1662 pitting a group of Iroquois against local Chippewa. The Iroquois had traveled about 400 miles by canoe and foot from their homeland in western New York to the shores of Lake Superior in an attempt to control the trade routes leading east from the Great Lakes. The Iroquois camped ear the point where the lighthouse stands and the Chippewa secretly watched their movements and mounted a surprise attack near dawn. The Iroquois were defeated decisively and apparently never again ventured this far west.





Whitefish Point, MI: The original 65' tall stone tower was completed in November of 1848. Its outside diameter tapers from 30' at the foundation to 14' below the stone deck. A simple detached 1½-story stone dwelling contained 2 rooms on the lower level and a sleeping area within the attic. The light was first exhibited at the opening of the 1849 navigation season. Its Lewis lamps method of illumination was replaced by a fixed white 4th-Order Fresnel lens in 1857, increasing the station’s visibility range to 13 miles in clear weather.

The opening of a new lock at the Sault in 1855 and its resultant increase in St. Mary’s River and Lake Superior maritime traffic necessitated improvement to a number of the lights marking critical points along the course. A new tower was built to replace the original (1848) 65' tall stone tower. The new tower was made of prefabricated numbered cast iron sections that were assembled in a manner similar to that of a giant erector set. Featuring a 6' diameter cylindrical cast iron center cylinder of ¼” plates, its interior wall was lined with wood paneling to help reduce condensation. Within the cylinder, a series of 57 cast iron stairs spiraled from the entry at the lower end to the lantern, which was also fabricated of cast iron sections. The center cylinder and lantern are supported by 4 tubular iron legs which are bolted to concrete foundation pads. The 4 legs are, in turn, supported by horizontal cross members with the entire assembly providing rigidity by way of diagonal iron braces quipped with turnbuckles. The central cylinder does not reach the ground, but is suspended approximately 17' above ground level, with entrance gained from the 2nd floor of the 2-story wood frame dwelling through an elevated covered passageway. The tower was capped by a lantern outfitted with a fixed white 3rd-Order Fresnel lens.

The lens was removed from the lantern in 1968 and replaced with a DCB224 aerobeacon–its simple and reliable electronic motor and automatic bulb changer almost eliminated the maintenance associated with the Fresnel lens. The station was completed automated in 1971, its buildings placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.





Crisp Point, MI: Named after Christopher Crisp, keeper from 1878 until 1890 of Lifesaving Station 10 (one of four lifesaving stations established between Vermilion and Deer Park). Getting to this lighthouse was an adventure and one we would not want to have taken in the RV! The first 15 miles take place on numbered county roads that are really just groomed sand trails; the last 5 miles are literally on what can only be described as logging trails.

Built in 1904, deactivated in 1947, the 58' tower’s foundation is poured concrete, its body is white brick with a black lantern. It is a separate conical tower that is attached to an entrance room. Its 1904 4th-Order Fresnel lens has been removed, disposition unknown. The 1904 brick sound signal building that was attached to the tower has been lost to erosion, as have the 2-story brick duplex keeper’s quarters, white frame boathouse, barn, brick oil house, and 2 outbuildings. Only 1 wall of entrance room and tower remain. 1,000 cu. yds. of stone placed in front of tower in 1997/’98 with plans for further protection/stabilization as funds become available.





Grand Marais Rear (Inner) Range Light, MI: 1898-built 55' cast iron, active skeletal light with 5th-Order Fresnel lens has a focal plane of 53'. It has an existing sound signal building housing a horn fog signal, and 2-story keeper’s quarters (1908) constructed of brick over wood frame serves as a museum. The Front (Outer) Range Light was already in-place, having been completed in November of 1895 significantly under budget. Because a second light forming a rear range for the pierhead light would further improve navigation into the harbor, the Lighthouse Board asked that the unexpended portion of the appropriation be applied to the construction of a rear range light to be located at the inner end of the west pier. The range lights were exhibited together for the first time in July of 1898.





Grand Marais Front (Outer) Range Light, MI: Determining that inbound navigation would be improved with the erection of a light and fog bell on the west pierhead at Grand Marais’ Harbor, an appropriation of $15,000 for such a light was approved by Congress in 1895. The original estimate of cost included funds for the purchase of a new fog bell and striking mechanism. The upgrading of the fog signal at Point Iroquois from a bell to a steam-whistle in 1895 resulted in the old Iroquois bell and mechanism being shipped to Grand Marais for use in the new tower. Completed in November, the new 34' white painted tower had an octagonal iron lantern housing a 6th-Order fixed white Fresnel lens. The light was exhibited for the first time on December 10, 1895.

In 1905 the front range light was moved 550' towards the newly extended pierhead, and additional elevated walkway was installed to connect the two lights. The characteristic was changed from white to red in order to better distinguish them from the lights of the town behind the range.

The Corps of Engineers topped maintaining the breakwater during the 1940s and the wooden structure rotted away. Unprotected, the harbor began to fill with sand making entry possible only for smaller vessels. Frequented by pleasure craft, the town is undergoing a resurgence as a 4-season resort area. Both ranges are still in place, although the lantern has been removed from the front range and replaced by a modern acrylic lens.




Seul Choix Point, MI: : Named by a group of French sailors who were caught in a storm that forced them to seek shelter. They landed on the rocky shore of a harbor and found refuge in the bay while waiting out the storm. Before leaving, they named the harbor Seul Choix (pronounced Sis-Shwa) which translates to “Only Choice.”

The conical shaped 78' tower and attached 2-story keeper’s dwelling, a steam fog signal building, stable, boathouse, 2 oil storage buildings, a brick privy, and boat dock and tramway to the fog signal building made up the complex. The light was exhibited in 1892, but the rest of the buildings were not completed until 1895 with the finishing of the fog signal building. The 3rd-Order Fresnel lens displayed a steady red light that was visible as far as 13 miles out in the lake. It was housed in a 10-sided iron lantern room. Replaced in 1972 with a modern rotating airport-type Aerobeacon, the station was automated and abandoned in 1973. The Fresnel lens was taken to USCG Station Soo and has since disappeared.